corduroys

Meaning

1. 1nounplural

   Trousers made of corduroy, a soft cotton cloth with raised parallel ridges.

   Grammar: Plural like trousers: my corduroys are warm, and a pair of corduroys for one garment.

   Patterns

   • a pair of corduroys
   • wear corduroys

   He pulled on his brown corduroys and went out to the garden.

   I bought a pair of green corduroys for the autumn term.

   Her corduroys were worn smooth at the knees.

Common combinations

a pair of corduroys

I found a pair of corduroys at the thrift store.

brown corduroys

The teacher always wore brown corduroys and a tweed jacket.

wide-leg corduroys

Wide-leg corduroys are back in fashion this winter.

faded corduroys

He sat on the porch in faded corduroys.

Synonyms and how they differ

cords

Cords is the short, casual name for the same trousers and is more usual in British speech.

trousers

Trousers is the general word for any legwear of this kind, while corduroys names one specific fabric.

pants

Pants is the usual American word for trousers, and does not tell you the material.

Word family

corduroy noun

the ridged cotton fabric itself

corduroy adjective

made of ridged cotton cloth, as in a corduroy jacket

cords noun

informal short form for corduroy trousers

Commonly confused: corduroys or cordon?

Practice

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